Cultural Responses to the Volcanic Landscape: the Mediterranean and Beyond

The geology around Rome is largely a result of recent geodynamic processes\udaffecting the western Mediterranean area. The geomorphology is mainly\uddue to the Quaternary explosive activity of two volcanic districts, the\udSabatini to the northeast and the Colli Albani to the southeast. Both deposited\udsequences of pyroclastic flows creating a flat and regular morphology that was\udsubsequently deeply excavated by postglacial erosional processes (fig. 9.1).\udAbout one million years ago, the Roman region was still submerged under\udthe Pliocene sea. Outcrops of Pliocene clay and sandy-clay sediments were\uddeposited between 3.40 and 1.79 million years ago (Ma), and compose the\udtopographically highest part of Rome: the Vatican, the Gianicolo, and Monte\udMario. These sediments were deposited in basins developed as a consequence\udof the Apennine orogeny and the subsequent opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea\ud(Funiciello 1995) and were uplifted to their present position by tectonic\udprocesses active during volcanism. The Pliocene clay sediments have a thickness\udof more than 800, and constitute the bedrock of the Roman area; their\udtectonic and stratigraphical relationships with the younger volcanic sediments\udstrongly influenced the development of Rome, and are responsible for some\udof the problems affecting the land stability of various sectors in the city\ud(Funiciello 1995)